Cable railway brake



(No Model.) 2 Sheets-Sheet 1.

- 0. COPE.

CABLE RAILWAY BRAKE.

No. 407,171. Patented uly 16, 1889.

N. PETERS. Phum-umogn hw. Wnslfinglon. I)v C4 (No Model.) 2 Sheets--Sheet 2; O. COPE.

CABLE RAILWAY BRAKE.

No. 407,171. Patented July 16, 1889.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

OLIVER COPE, OF SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-THIRD TO JAMES OTIS, OF SAME PLACE.

CABLE-RAI LWAY BRAKE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 407,171, dated July 16, 1889.

Application filed February 26, 1889. Serial No. 301,252. (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, OLIVER COPE, of the city and county of San Francisco, State of California, have invented an Improvement in Cable-Railway Brakes; and I hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same.

My invention relates to a novel cable-railway brake; and it consists of the combination, with a car or dummy which is adapted to travel upon the rails of a cable railway, of agripping mechanism traveling above and below the slot-irons of the cable tube or tunnel, a mechanism whereby the jaws of the grip may be made to approach each other and clasp the jaws of the slot-irons or recede from each other, so as to release them.

It also consists of a horizontal shaft extending across the car-frame, carrying mechanism whereby this grip-brake is operated, and also eccentrics by which the track-brakes are operated simultaneously therewith.

It further consists in a mechanism for disengaging the grip-brake at will, and a means for detaching and swinging the brake up clear of the slot-irons and the track, and in certain details of construction, all of which will be more fully explained by reference to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a side elevation showing the track and wheel brakes and mechanism at one side of the car only. Fig. 2 is a longitudinal vertical section taken through a: x of Fig. 4. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal vertical section particularly showing the grip brake turned up out of the slot. Fig. 4; is a trans verse vertical section taken through y 1 Fig. 2. Fig. 5 is a top view of the frame Q. Fig. 6 is a side view of the same.

A is the frame or truck of the car or dummy having wheels B, flanged or otherwise adapted to travel upon the rails of the track, and having the brakes C, and the foot-lever by which they are applied to the peripheries of 5 the wheels.

E are the ti'aclcbi'alces, consisting of shoes pivoted to the arms F, which connect with the straps of the eccentrics G, there being one of these track-brakes and a correspond- 50 ing operating-eccentric upon each end of the horizontal shaft II, which is journaled across the frame A.

I I are vertical guides upon which these brake-shoes move up and down when the eccentric-shaft is rotated for that purpose. \Vhen this shaft is turned in one direction, the eccentrics will raise the shoes clear of the track to allow the car to move freely. When turned in the opposite direction these shoes will be forced downward until they press upon the track with any desired degree of force, even to the point of raising the carwheels from the track and supporting the whole weight upon these shoes. Being pivoted to their operating-arm, they will adapt themselves to any little irregularities caused by the position of the car with relation to the rails, so that their whole surface will be applied upon the rails to act as a brake.

It often occurs that the rails are in the condition known as greasy, by reason of rain or dense fog, with clay or mud or foreign substances, so that ncither the Wheel-brakes nor the track-brakes will suffiee to hold the car upon a steep grade. A device upon which I rely most strongly for this-purpose consists of the shoes J and K. The shoe J is fitted to travel above the irons between which the slot is formed and through which the gripshank passes from the car. The slot-irons So have various forms, but all of them have a considerable surface exposed at the top and also beneath or within the tunnel. The shoe K is fitted to press against the bottom or inside of the flanges of these slot-irons and is provided with the broad thin plates or bars L, which extend up through the slots and connect with the yoke M beneath the car.

Upon the horizontal shaft II is a disk N, and a pin upon one side of the center serves as an attachment for a pitman or connecting rod 0, the lower end of which is attached to the yoke M, so that when the disk is turned by means of this connecting-rod it will raise the yoke, and with it the shoe K. Upon the opposite side of the shaft an arm I is connected with the shoe J, so that the turning of the disk to raise the shoe K and cause it to press against the bottom of the flanges of the slot-irons will at the same time force I00 downward the shoe J and cause it to press upon the top of the slot-irons, thus gripping the irons between these two shoes with any desired degree of force. The shoe J is guided by a parallelogram or frame Q of sufficient thickness, this parallelogram being firmly supported from the frame A of 'the car, and the shoe J is of sufficient length to just fit into the opening in the central portion of the parallelogram and be guided in its vertical movements by it. The shanks of the shoe K pass up through slots made through the shoe J, or in an equivalent manner, and the shoe K is thus guided by the same frame in its vertical movements. The disk N is fitted loosely upon the shaft H and is thrown into or out of engagement with the shaft by means of the sliding clutch-ring R, which travels upon a feather or other equivalent device on the shaft H, and has lugs at its ends to engage corresponding ones upon the hub of the disk N, so that when the clutch is moved into cont-act and the lugs are caused to engage those upon the disk N the rotation of the shaft 1-1 will, through this clutch, move the disk N and thus operate the slot-brake. When, however, it is desired to throw this out of operation, it is done by means of an arm S, Fig. 4, which extends up through the framework or floor of the car to within reach of the driver. This arm is fixed to a horizontal shaft T, which is journaled so as to have an end movement, and the spring U upon this shaft,

pressing against the lever S, forces it toward the disk N. The lower end of the lever S is formed so as to engage the groove or channel turned in the clutch-sleeve R, and this clutchsleeve is thus moved simultaneously with the lever S, the spring forcing it into contact with the disk N when the lever S is released from its holding-catch. lVhen it is desired to throw it out of contact by pushing the lever S away from the disk N, it carries the clutch-sleeve with it until it is clear of the corresponding notches in the hub of the disk N and the lever is dropped into a notch or catch 5 on the frame, which holds it in this position until it is desired to use the grip-brake, when the lever may be disengaged and the clutch allowed to again engage that of the disk.

The shaft H is turn ed by means of a lever U, extending upward within the body of the car within convenient reach of the gripman, and this lever is provided with the usual pawl to engage the segment-rack V and hold the lever at any desired point. A collar WV is fixed upon the shaft near the lever, and it has a hinged arm or pawl X, which drops by gravitation, so as to engage the end of the clutch-sleeve when the clutch is engaged with the disk and thus prevent it from being thrown out of engagement. This pawl may be raised by a connecting-arm, either independently or united to the lever, so as to be operated simultaneously with the movement of the latter.

-It will be seen by this construction that the track-brakes upon each side are operated by the eccentrics G,fixed upon the shaft H, and the slot-grips are simultaneously operated by means of the disk N upon the same shaft, so that one lever is sufficient to operate all the brakes, if needed. The slot-grip brake is easily disengaged by means of the clutch mechanism above described, and is not used except upon steep or dangerous grades, where it may be necessary.

When the car is to leave the main line to go into the car-house, or for certain purposes, it is necessary to turn up the grips, so as to be clear of the road-bed, this is done by hinging them, and appropriate openings are made at certain points through which the grip may be taken out from the cable tube or tunnel. In the use of my slot-grip brake it will also be necessary to remove the lower jaw partly for the same reason. This is done by making one end of the parallelogram guide-frame Q independent of the rest of the frame, and it is connected therewith by mortising it into the ends and uniting it by pins Z. These pins may then be removed and this end will then slip out, thus allowing the grip-brake shoes to turn about their points of suspension and swing up beneath the body of the car and entirely clear of the road-bed,thus allowing the car to move anywhere that may be necessary without reference to the slots in the track.

Having thus described my invention, what I I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. The verticallymoving grip-shoes, one

above and one below the slot-irons of a cablerailway tube or tunnel, a guide upon the car through which the shoe shanks or connections move, a horizontal shaft journaled upon the car, having a disk mounted thereon, and connecting-rods extending from opposite sides of said disk to the shoes or their connectingyokes, so that the rotation of the disk will move the shoes in opposite directions, substantially as described.

2. A horizontalshaft journaled upon a cablerailway car or dummy, having a disk upon it and a lever by which the shaft and disk may be rotated, gripping-shoes supported, respectively, above and below the slot-irons of the cable-railway tube or tunnel, and the links connecting said shoes with a disk upon the opposite sides of the rotary shaft, whereby the rotation of the shaft will cause the grippingshoes to approach to or recede from each other, substantially as described.

3. The slot-iron gripping-shoes, the connecting-links, and rotary shaft and disk whereby they are actuated, in combination with the fixed guide supported from the carbody, whereby the shoes are caused to retain their position and are guided in their movements, substantially as described.

4':- The vertioally-moving gripping-shoes, with the connecting-links, and a disk fitted loosely upon the horizontal shaft which is are actuated, a clutch-sleeve traveling longitudinally upon a feather upon the shaft, a lever by which said sleeve is moved in one direction, and a spring acting against said lever or the sleeve, so as to throw it into engagement with the disk when released, substantially as described.

0; The loose spring-actuated sleeve fitted upon the horizontal shaft which is j ournaled to the car-frame, the clutch connected therewith and moved to engage with the disk, and

a pawl or stop acting against the end of the clutch-sleeve when the latteris in engagement with the disk, so as to prevent its becoming disengaged, substantially as described.

7. A brake mechanism for cable-railway cars, consisting of the vertically-moving slotiron grip-shoes, the track-brake consisting of shoes adapted to be pressed downward upon the track, a horizontal shaft journaled across the frame and having a central disk by which the grip-shoes are actuated, and eccentrics upon its outer end, whereby the track-brakes are actuated simultaneously with the slot-grip by the rotation of the shaft, substantially as described.

In witness whereof I have hereunto set my hand OLIVER COPE. lVit-n esses:

S. H. Nounsn,

11. 0. LEE. 

